


Physics Lesson

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 08:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4557342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cochise and Tom have a miscommunication over the laws of physics, so Tom finds someone else to help explain things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Physics Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> While my history is always on point, the physics shit I make up for the Volm has like 0% basis in fact.

“Your youngest offspring is quite impressive,” Cochise says serenely as they snuggle up in bed together. 

Tom narrows his eyes, feeling slightly suspicious of this statement.  “How so?”  Not that he doesn’t love Matt with all his heart, but he really hopes that Matt isn’t climbing up insanely dangerous, tall things again. 

“He is capable of defying the laws of physics,” Cochise says. 

Tom snorts.  “I think you’re a little confused, Cochise.”

“He explained how one of your devices work, and when I stated that that defied the laws of physics, he shrugged and mentioned that he also defied many such laws,” Cochise says.  “He was impressively casual.”

Tom laughs a little and nuzzles Cochise’s cheek.  “I’m not saying Matt is a liar or that you can’t believe him, but you have to take what he has to say with a little skepticism.  He’s not always the clearest when it comes to explaining things.” 

“You are certain?” Cochise asks, deflating a little. 

“Yes,” Tom says.  “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“I should have been aware,” Cochise says, frowning a little.  “It is not possible to defy the laws of physics, but you have also shown me many things that I previously thought impossible, so I thought perhaps…  Foolishness.”

“It’s okay,” Tom says.  “Matt’s a pretty amazing kid; if anyone could ignore the laws of physics out of existence, it’s him.”

“But he cannot,” Cochise says flatly. 

“Nope, I’m afraid not,” Tom says, kissing his cheek. 

Cochise nods a little and looks away, clearly bummed out. 

“So what was Matt trying to explain to you?” Tom asks.

“He was attempting to explain how human eye glasses work,” Cochise says. 

“Oh!” Tom says.  “The glasses bend the light and then-“

Cochise makes the wheezing sound that is Volm laughter and strokes Tom’s face affectionately.  “I appreciate your attempt at humor, Tom.  I assure you, I am alright.”

“Humor?  I’m not being humorous,” Tom says, squinting at him.

“A continued joke,” Cochise says, still laughing.  “Very human.  I enjoy your people’s sense of humor, even if I often do not understand it.” 

“I wasn’t being funny!” Tom exclaims. 

“Then that was a wildly inaccurate statement,” Cochise says. 

“No, it wasn’t,” Tom says.  “I mean, I’m no scientist, but I know how glasses work.  Ben used to have them.”  Probably.

“Are you certain?  You are knowledgeable in many ways, but there is no shame in not knowing everything,” Cochise says. 

“But I know this!” Tom says.  He kisses Cochise’s cheek and starts to get up.  “I’ll show you.” 

“Tom, wait-“ but Tom is already out the door.

Cochise sighs and looks at Tom’s pants, sitting on the chair next to their bed.  At least his nightshirt is long enough that his strange human modesty will be mostly preserved, provided Tom does not bend over.

* * *

 

“Hey!  Are you working on anything important right now?”  Tom’s voice comes from behind him. 

“Just working with the communication system, gotta see who else is out there,” Dingaan says.

“Can you help me with something?” Tom asks.

Dingaan turns around to see Tom standing in his makeshift laboratory without any pants on.  His nightshirt is just barely long enough to keep Dingaan from seeing more of Tom Mason than anyone really ought to see. 

“Locating your pants?” Dingaan guesses, gesturing downwards while making every effort to make contact with Tom’s _eyes_ and not anything else.

Tom looks down at himself and pulls the hem of his nightshirt down.  “Crap.  No, I know where those are.  Just, uh, come on.”

Dingaan sighs and raises his eyebrows in friendly irritation.  “It is ten at night.”

“Please?” Tom asks.  “That wasn’t a no.”

Dingaan gets to his feet and nods.  “This had better be worth it.”

“It’s super important, I promise,” Tom assures him.

And that is how Dingaan Botha ends up squeezed between Cochise and Tom in their bed.  Where is his dignity now?  At least Cochise has pants on, from what Dingaan can tell. 

“You want me to explain how glasses work?” Dingaan asks, stretching out and making himself comfortable.

“When Tom attempts to explain it, his description is not consistent with how reality actually functions,” Cochise says.  “I believed he initially attempted to be humorous, but this was not the case.”

“I only got three words in before he started laughing,” Tom says, sounding mildly hurt.

“Seven,” Cochise adds. 

“You screwed up explaining how glasses work in seven words?” Dingaan asks, tilting his head over to look at Tom.  “And you _really_ got elected President?”

Tom groans and huffs at the ceiling before looking back over at him.  “Yes, I was!  Quite popularly, I might add.”

“Americans,” Dingaan says, shaking his head.  Well, not the worst they’ve ever done. 

“Hey, I established _great_ diplomatic relations with the Volm,” Tom says. 

“I can see that,” Dingaan says, sandwiched between the former president and the commander of the Volm mission on Earth. 

“I am quite pleased the humans elected Tom as their leader,” Cochise says. 

“I bet,” Dingaan mutters before getting a little louder and turning to look at Cochise.  “Even if he cannot explain how glasses work?” 

“That his grasp of basic physics is so limited is somewhat concerning, but many humans did not favor an alliance with the Volm,” Cochise says.  “Many of them proposed shooting us.”

Dingaan makes a noise of vague dismay.  “How unfortunate those were your choices.”

“I’m right here!” Tom protests. 

“It sounds like you were the best choice, if it helps,” Dingaan says. 

Tom just huffs again. 

“How do human glasses work?” Cochise asks. 

“It depends on the prescription, but generally, the glasses refract the light in various ways in order to make it hit the retina properly,” Dingaan says. 

“That is a much more believable explanation,” Cochise says.

“That’s what I said!” Tom exclaims. 

“No, you said that they bend the light,” Cochise says.

“That’s the same thing!” Tom says.  He turns on his side and props his head up with one arm.  “Bending and refracting light is the same thing!  Tell him!”

“He’s right,” Dingaan says, nodding a little. 

“You are both incorrect,” Cochise says.  “To bend light and to refract it are two different phenomena.” 

“What are you talking about?” Dingaan asks, intrigued.  Maybe Cochise is being obstinate, but the Volm know their way around technology.

Cochise abruptly turns away from Dingaan and Tom.  “We must not discuss it further.”

“What?” Tom asks, leaning over Dingaan to get at Cochise in a way that ought to be annoying, but isn’t. 

“We are not allowed to advance the technology of species we encounter beyond what is strictly necessary for the war effort,” Cochise says. 

“Oh, come on!” Dingaan says.  “You’ve got some discovery and you can’t tell us?” 

“Only if it becomes relevant to our mission here,” Cochise says, turning back towards them.  He looks surprisingly remorseful.  “I am sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Tom says, reaching over Dingaan again to stroke Cochise’s cheek tenderly. 

“No, it’s not!” Dingaan says.  Cochise knows stuff!  “What else is out there?”

“I cannot tell you,” Cochise says.

“I think you’re making it up,” Dingaan says, squinting at Cochise. 

“I am not,” Cochise says.

Dingaan continues trying to cajole Cochise into revealing what he means by bending light until he hears a light snore beside him.  He turns to see Tom asleep.

“If you also require rest, you may sleep here,” Cochise says.  “But do not disturb Tom should you choose to leave.”

Dingaan considers his options.  This seems like a comfy enough place to spend a night, and he likes Tom and Cochise just fine, despite recent revelations (and lack thereof). 

“I will stay here,” Dingaan decides.  He lays flat on his back. 

Cochise scoots out of bed, much to Dingaan’s confusion, and crosses the room to turn the lights off.  He returns to bed, surprising Dingaan by getting back where he was instead of moving over to lay beside Tom. 

Surprising, but being snuggled between Cochise and Tom actually makes him feel pretty nice.

“Goodnight, Dingaan,” Cochise says quietly.  “I apologize for being unable to answer your questions.”

“Night,” Dingaan says, “and you refused to tell me!  You could tell me!”

“Goodnight, Dingaan,” Cochise repeats.

Dingaan, while slightly worked up, still manages to get to sleep with relative ease.

* * *

 

Cochise watches the two human sleep, curious.  He has not spent time in such close proximity to humans other than Tom.  But he enjoys Dingaan’s company, so he does not mind that Tom has invited him into their bed for the night. 

He reaches over to stroke Tom’s shoulder, desiring physical contact.  It surprises him when Tom scoots closer to Dingaan, throwing an arm over him and resting his hand on Cochise’s stomach.  This is a pleasant night. 

It is morning too soon, and Dingaan wakes up first.  His eyes widen and he looks between Cochise and Tom. 

“Good morning, Dingaan,” Cochise says. “I hope you had a pleasant rest cycle.”

Dingaan nods a little as he starts to stir.  “Slept great.” 

“That is good news,” Cochise says.  “I am certain that Tom will be awake shortly.”

Dingaan squirms out from under Tom’s arm and off the bed.  “I’ve got some work to get back to.”

“I enjoyed our discussion last night, and perhaps we will have the chance to work together,” Cochise says, sitting up in bed.

Dingaan nods.  “That’d be good.  See ya.” 

And he’s out the door before Cochise can say anything else, so Cochise shrugs a little and lays back down. 

Tom automatically wraps himself around Cochise, and Cochise looks down at his human with an affectionate smile. 

“I care for you deeply,” Cochise murmurs in his native language.  “You are absolutely magnificent.”

“That sounded sweet, whatever it was,” Tom groans, opening his eyes.

“It was,” Cochise assures him, stroking his hair.  “How was your rest cycle?”

“Good, good,” Tom says, stretching a little.  “Sorry I fell asleep on you and Dingaan last night.”

“You were tired.  It is understandable,” Cochise says.

“Still, I feel bad,” Tom says.  “I’ll have to talk to Dingaan later.”

“He had a pleasant rest cycle,” Cochise says.

“He stayed here last night?” Tom asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I informed him that it was acceptable,” Cochise says.  He wonders if he made an improper offer.  “Was that not right?”

Tom shrugs a little.  “It’s fine, as long as he was fine with it.” 

“I would not wish to offend him.  He is pleasant company,” Cochise says. 

“I like him, too,” Tom says. 

“Is it uncommon for a human to share companionship with more than one other human?” Cochise asks. 

“Yeah, kinda,” Tom says.  “Why?”

“Curiosity,” Cochise explains.

“Looking to replace me?” Tom asks, and there is a trace of disease in his voice. 

“You are irreplaceable, Tom,” Cochise assures him, “but it is common for Volm to have multiple partners at once, although our partnerships are different than human ones.  I merely wondered what human social standards are.”

Tom smiles at him.  “Human standards are always flexible, if everyone’s alright with it.”

“Interesting,” Cochise says.

“Depending on how Dingaan feels, some more physics lessons might be good,” Tom says.

Cochise nods.  “You are quite ignorant in this regard.”

“Hey!” Tom says, yawning widely. 

“I love you regardless,” Cochise says.

“That’s a relief,” Tom says.

The prospect of sharing experiences with another human is somewhat daunting, but it could also be an enjoyable experience.  It certainly is worth further thought.


End file.
